Atlético Madrid, Europe’s top club for saving on signings
CIES reveal that Atlético is the club with the best record in terms of expenditure (€593M) and market value. Manchester United has the worst.
Atlético Madrid have spent hundreds of millions on transfers over the last decade, but according to the CIES Observatory they have actually spent more wisely than any other club in Europe. A new report reveals that the Rojiblancos is the club to have saved the most out of the five major leagues on signings made from the summer of 2012 - taking into account the difference between the money spent and the market value of the players they acquired at the time of the operation. According to these accounts, Atleti forked out 593 million euros in 32 operations that should have cost them 675 million. That is, 82 million euros in savings (12%).
Not all of those 32 signings have turned out well for Atleti, but some can be looked back on a very shrewd decisions on and off the pitch. For example, the case of Reinildo, who they bought for about 3 million euros. The club took advantage of the fact that he would be a free agent the following summer but as his market value was 15 million, they actually acquired him for a very reasonable price. In the most recent transfer window, Atlético paid just 20 million euros for Nahuel, whose estimated value is 30 million. Zero cost operations like Witsel are not taken into account for this statistic. Also De Paul, who cost 35 million and is now valued at 60 is viewed as a good economic operation for CIES.
The most 'thrifty' clubs in Europe...
| Club | Money spent (millions euros) | Estimated market value | Difference | Nº of signings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlético | 593 | 675 | -82 | 32 |
| Barcelona | 1.465 | 1.512 | -47 | 40 |
| Sevilla | 585 | 629 | -44 | 54 |
| Fiorentina | 304 | 343 | -39 | 37 |
| Hertha | 197 | 228 | -31 | 31 |
| Gladbach | 219 | 247 | -28 | 22 |
| Mainz | 99 | 123 | -24 | 23 |
| Getafe | 79 | 101 | -22 | 19 |
| Schalke | 141 | 163 | -22 | 23 |
| Wolves | 305 | 326 | -21 | 36 |
| Espanyol | 76 | 97 | -21 | 13 |
The second club to have saved the most on signings (and also the second to have spent the most) is Barça. They splashed out a total of 1.465 million euros on 40 players who have a combined value of 1.512 million - a saving of 47 million. Sevilla has saved 44 million in 54 operations (from 585 to 629 million). The next Spanish club in the ranking is Getafe, who invested 79 million euros in 19 operations that should have cost 101 million.
...and the most wasteful
| Club | Money spent (millions euros) | Estimated market value | Difference (%) | Nº of signings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man United | 1.594 | 1.356 | 238 (18%) | 33 |
| Juventus | 1.031 | 797 | 234 (29%) | 36 |
| PSG | 1.010 | 848 | 162 (19% | 31 |
| Aston Villa | 577 | 428 | 149 (35%) | 44 |
| Real Madrid | 833 | 685 | 148 (22%) | 19 |
| Chelsea | 1.334 | 1.199 | 135 (11%) | 36 |
| Arsenal | 980 | 851 | 129 (15%) | 33 |
| Rennes | 369 | 255 | 114 (45%) | 33 |
| Everton | 747 | 650 | 97 (15%) | 29 |
| Dortmund | 550 | 473 | 77 (16%) | 28 |
At the other end of the table, there are also no surprises with the most spendthrift club in Europe. Manchester United, with several very expensive signings on their balance sheet (Antony, Sancho, Maguire, Lukaku, Pogba...), have spent 1.594 million euros on 33 reinforcements that should have cost 238 million less. Juventus, who has also completed a number of extravagant operations (Cristiano, De Ligt, Vlahovic, Higuaín...), spent 1.031 million euros on 36 players that according to the CIES’ estimates, were worth just 797 million. That works out at overspending of 234 million euros (29%).